The PL4800 is just one in the new gaming chair lineup from Vertagear. It’s part of their new 800 Series that launched earlier this year in celebration of the company’s 7-year annivesary into the racing chair scene. This new series comes in four models, the SL3800 and SL5800 for those with a smaller stature, and the PL4800 and PL6800 for gamers with larger frames. Our own Hardware Editor Chris Coke reviewed the original PL6000 back in 2017, but gaming chairs - and Vertagear themselves - have both evolved considerably over the last five years. The PL4800 shows off a lot of Vertagear’s latest technology such as their trademarked ContourMax Lumbar, the VertaAir seat, and HygennX material. But are these new signature features enough to make it worthy as your gaming throne? Here’s our review of the Vertagear PL4800 gaming chair.
The specs of the PL4800 are designed for gamers between 5’9” and 6’6” and with a maximum weight of up to 360lbs, which makes it accessible for those with larger frames. Its larger cousin the PL6800’s maximum weight even goes up to 400lbs if you need more room, whereas the SL3800 and SL5800 only go up to 220lbs or 250lbs respectively.
Specifications
- MSRP $579.99 (right now on sale for $479.99)
- 5-Star Base: Aluminum Alloy
- Penta RS1 Caster: 65mm / 2.5”
- Armrests: 4D
- Gas Lift: Class 4
- Seat Materials: Coffee ground fiber, Memory foam, UPHR foam, PUC Leather
- Height from 5’9”-6’6”
- Recommended Height: 5’9”-6’6” / 175 cm-198 cm
- Recommended Weight: 360 lb / 163 kg
- Overall Height: 53.3”-56.2”
- Seat Width: 21.5” / 545 mm
- Seat Depth: 17.7” / 450 mm
- Gross Weight: 73.9 lb / 33.5 kg
- Available Colors: Black/White, Carbon Black, Midnight Blue, Midnight Green, Midnight Purple, and Burgundy Red
Most notable about the PL4800, and the whole 800 series of chairs, is Vertagear's new patented technology that they’ve included. The ContourMax Lumbar is a built-in lumbar support system (as opposed to a lumbar pillow that you wrap around the chair’s back) that has Memory Foam material on tome of four TPEE Modules with a total of 64 responsive branches that Vertagear claims will help retain ergonomic comfort during those longer sitting session. The VertaAir seat is embedded inside the bottom seat itself with multiple air cushions that displace pressure evenly and diverts energy away from the base instead of downloads towards it. Lastly, their HygennX material fuses patented coffee ground nanotech in order to both neutralize odors and help to prevent bacterial growth.
The packaging was quite large when it was delivered (as is the case for most gaming chairs) measuring about 33” long, 29” wide, and 17” tall, The outside of the box has large font with the model number and the Vertagear brand name, so if you needed it delivered conspicuously for any reason, it's pretty obvious what's inside. Within the box, the PL4800 came as four major parts: the 5-star wheel base, the seat, the backrest, and the seat mechanism. Additionally, the caster wheels, M8 screws, M8 tool, and instruction manual come inside a nice looking box that has everything neatly organized. This was a nice change of pace since most other gaming chairs I’ve put together either had these smaller components loosely contained in plastic bags or in some measly corrugated cardboard wrap taped together.
Vertagear claims that their gaming chairs feature “effortless assembly” thanks to their patented “Slide-in” hardware, and honestly I was not disappointed. All in total it took about 20 minutes to put together the PL4800, and that was with the distraction assistance of my two toddlers wanting to help build it as well. The only hang-up I had while putting it together was screwing in the “Slide-in” hardware where initially the screws didn’t line-up perfectly into the metal posts. Eventually I got it (after a couple times unscrewing and screwing back in) and the chair was ready for a test drive. After my toddlers tried it out first, of course.
The PL4800 has a sleek design, with the black HygennX fabric covering most of the surface area and the PUC leather accented along the sides in one of many color options. For this review, I chose the Midnight Purple, which contrasts lovely against the bold, yellow stitching work throughout the chair, but there's five other colors available to choose from including 'carbon black' and 'burgundy red'. The included memory foam pillow is also covered in the black HygennX material, and fits snugly around the top of the headrest. Aesthetically, the PL4800 is probably the best looking gaming chair I’ve ever had. But in the end, how does it fare when actually sitting on it?
The PL4800 has a sleek design, with the black HygennX fabric covering most of the surface area and the PUC leather accented along the sides in one of many color options. For this review, I chose the Midnight Purple, which contrasts lovely against the bold, yellow stitching work throughout the chair, but there's five other colors available to choose from including 'carbon black' and 'burgundy red'. The included memory foam pillow is also covered in the black HygennX material, and fits snugly around the top of the headrest. Aesthetically, the PL4800 is probably the best looking gaming chair I’ve ever had. But in the end, how does it fare when actually sitting on it?
Conversely, the bottom seat itself is comfortable to sit on, and the waterfall design means that your legs will naturally fall off the edge without getting pressed on by the lip of the seat. This means longer sitting sessions (or gaming sessions) where your legs' circulation isn't cut off and you don't have to frequently adjust your legs. Features like the 4D armrests are also really nice to have as well, offering adjustments going up and down, side-to-side, swiveling angled in or out, and forward/backward. I could always find a position that was comfortable for my arms to be in whether it was typing at the desk or holding a controller. It has plenty of adjustable parts to where I think anyone would be able to find a comfortable resting position for their arms. The padding on the armrests are on the harder side, but it still never hurt to use even when my elbows were angled right into them.
Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get past how uncomfortable the back seat was and it prevented me from enjoying the rest of the chair. If only there was some kind of dial or roller that could change the positioning of the CountourMax Lumbar then it wouldn’t be so painful to sit in. Unfortunately, for me spending any more than 10 minutes resulted in developing kinks in my back that I felt like I had to stretch and pop my spine just to relieve. It’s a shame that the TPEE Modules used internally as the back support essentially go to waste in this case. I think Vertagear would have done better to opt instead for a back pillow like their other gaming chairs than to try and attempt a one-size-fits-all solution.
Which is a shame because I really wish that I could’ve made the PL4800 my go-to gaming chair. I wanted to splurge on the additional upgrade kits, like the RGB LED light kit for the top, which fit around the plastic holes in the shoulders of the backrest, or the bottom kit, which fits glowing LED lights on the 5-star base. These kits were not available to review alongside the chair, and honestly I doubt the price would be worth investing into either way. The MSRP for either the top or bottom kits is $299.99 each (although they are both on sale for $229.99 at the time of this writing) which just seems arbitrarily expensive for the little gain that it would provide to the overall aesthetic. Still, I'm a sucker for RGB and I'll look for any excuse to install lights on any piece of hardware I have.
Vertagear does stand behind its chairs though, and for good reason; the quality of the PL4800 is excellent. From the stitching to the caster wheels and even the headrest pillow, the PL4800 is just well-made overall. So its no wonder that Vertagears standard warranty includes 10 years on the frame, and 2 years on all other parts except the fabric, although there is an optional Wear and Tear program they offer for an additional charge which covers all of the fabrics and stitching of the chair. Additionally, they also offer an extended warranty that bumps the standard warranty by 3 more years, to a total of 5 years.
The Vertagear PL4800 is a great looking chair with many high-quality features and smart design choices, like the waterfall seat edge and 4D armrests, but it’s ultimately the most uncomfortable chair that I’ve ever used due to its immovable and ill-positioned built-in lumbar. For different, smaller body types I could see it being a good match but for a chair that’s supposedly designed for larger builds supporting up to a 6’6” height, having a one-size-fits-all approach to the placement of its back support isn’t ergonomic, it’s ergo-wrong. Especially considering how its price is set even higher at an MSRP of $579.99 than the others in the new 800 series, it’s hard to recommend paying such a premium price tag for a product that isn’t even guaranteed to fit you.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
